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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2011 12:30:30 GMT -5
I was beginning to wonder where you went! Definitely the quail should introduced whole. We don't WANT them on soup forever or tiny chunks - whole is best If she's eating chunks, I don't see the purpose of giving her soup, no matter how early it seems. At some point the soup has to go, and if she's already willing to progress, you should move forward with her. It sounds like your guys are doing awesome! It's great to hear it
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Post by silverben on Jul 27, 2011 11:54:07 GMT -5
Yes sorry I was in the Yukon working with a spay/neuter and vaccination team. I was told Revan had eaten pieces of gizzard and heart, but when I got back and fed some pieces she didn't really take to it. So I did end up making a new batch of soup but hardly any water was added and they weren't blended very much, so its pretty chunky. I've also been adding in cut up chunks of the same kind of meat into their soup to get them more used to it. So hopefully I can continue to add more chunks and take out the soup part. I'm worried about now trying to make their diet a bit more balanced.
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Post by silverben on Jul 27, 2011 15:28:06 GMT -5
Oh I also have a question about thawing the meat. Can it be thawed just out on the counter or does it have to be in the fridge to thaw? Revan doesn't like the cold of the fridge food
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Post by Deleted on Jul 27, 2011 19:29:48 GMT -5
I thaw in the sink, and have done for three years now and never had an issue, so I feel safe in saying that's fine. We're not too worried about balancing the diet. They're still on soup, so once we get them off of that and eating their one protein source, THEN we work on introducing the variety and the balance that comes with that. As long as you have the eggshell/bone powder in the soup (you can also add in taurine, as well), you're good for now.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2011 21:09:22 GMT -5
check in?
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Post by silverben on Aug 8, 2011 12:13:29 GMT -5
I had a post all typed up and I thought it went through but it turns out didn't! I'm sorry about that. They are now eating chunks of chicken and pork (not too small of chunks either) and in the quail soup (which is very chunky and not ground much) they will crunch up and eat the little bones no problem, but I tried putting a chunk of quail with bone in it into their cage and revan wouldn't touch it and rylan only ate a bit. How do I take the next step of introducing bone and bigger chunks? Also, Revan choked a bit on a piece of chicken one night and I think it scared her a little, so we've had a bit of a set back.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2011 12:44:49 GMT -5
There's a few things that you could. First, though, it sounds like the chunk *not* being in the soup is what stopped them from trying to eat it? If that's the case, you can try the bigger bone-in chunk directly in the soup OR we might have to get them OFF the soup (gradually decrease the amount of liquid until it's a paste, then add in more and more chunks until it IS just chunks).
As for the choking, it can scare them, especially if their humans get scared. Generally when it happens, I just separate them from the others (ferts get to in-your-face curious and that's not what a choking guys needs, LOL) and talk to them calmly. That generally *keeps* them calm and able to work out what they need to do to get the bone up. BUT, did you look her over (sometimes food can scrape their throat, leaving it sore to where she'd not want to eat much beyond the softer foods. Granted I've never had that happen outside of kibble, even with a bone getting turned about, but still, worth checking if you haven't yet)
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Post by Deleted on Aug 13, 2011 12:15:51 GMT -5
check in?
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Post by silverben on Aug 14, 2011 15:19:39 GMT -5
I tried putting the big chunks in with some chunky soup (the soup doesn't get any water added anymore and isn't ground into a paste, it still has chunky bits in it) and Revan ate it no problem, I even saw her crunching on a whole quail wing! So I'm going to continue with that method and hopefully she'll continue to get better. She seems fine after the choke, and hasn't choked since. However, I was feeding them beef kindey and liver one night and Revan lapped it up with some ferretone but Rylan needed to be spoon fed, and then he threw it all up. Should I look for a different animal for organs or does he just need to get used to the richness?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2011 16:29:52 GMT -5
Pork kidney is sometimes a better fit, taste wise, so that's worth looking in to Other times, they just eat too fast and they yak it up Congrats on the progress, though! It sounds like you and your guys are really coming along well!
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Post by silverben on Aug 18, 2011 12:01:50 GMT -5
So they are both eating fairly big chunks and a fair amount of the bone in the chunky quail soup but to move forward I want to introduce more bone in meat so hopefully they'll start eating it more and I won't have to supplement as much. What are some types of bone in meats that are good starters other than the quail?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2011 12:10:30 GMT -5
chicken wing tips (you can give the entire wing, but the thicker bones might need to be bashed a bit for them to eat), chicken back, cornish game hen/rock hen (mine can eat all the bones in this bird), chicken/turkey/duck necks, rabbit. Mine eat small pork bones (buttons or rib tips), small goat bones, turkey bones, duck bones, goose bones. Generally, steer clear of large animal bones and weight bearing bones, unless you want to smash it up a bit for them (the marrow in the middle is great for them, and they do get a LOT of mental stimulation out of stripping the meat away, and some determined fuzzies WILL go for bigger bones, though).
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Post by silverben on Aug 21, 2011 8:01:33 GMT -5
I went shopping yesterday and was able to buy more quail, chicken wings for the wing tips, a whole young chicken, pork kidney and pork heart for $15 Good and bad news though: Revan was super and crunched up big chunks of quail they were given last night (Rylan was too full of beans to eat when I fed them but I have faith he'll eat it all up). The bad news is Rylan wouldn't eat the pork kidney even with ferretone on it.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 21, 2011 11:59:47 GMT -5
yeah ... a lot of ferrets don't really like it. Have you tried pureeing bits with some soup they like? You can generally get them to eat it like that, and gradually work them up to eating it whole.
Good job on the shopping spree! You really made out!
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2011 21:38:39 GMT -5
check in? Unless some unfortunate business comes up, let's at least try for once a week check-ins, okay?
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